Shadow Study

*****

5 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for giving me this book to review.

Being the Soul Finder and liaison between Ixia and Sitia has kept Yelena busy and left her little time to spend with Valek. However, on her way to see him she is attacked with a poison arrow, and believes she expels it all. After only spending a few hours together, Valek has to return to Ixia. When he gets back home he has to deal with various problems, firstly to track down who attacked Yelena, secondly to deal with a new assassin, Onora, who wants his job, and finally to stop a smuggling ring between Ixia and Sitia. Meanwhile, after Yelena’s attack she discovers that she has lost her powers and is desperate to get them back as she is vulnerable because an old enemy, Ben Moon, has escaped from prison and is out to get her.

Shadow Study is the amazing new Study book, and it is nice to see these characters and this world again. I like that we have the POV of not just Yelena but also Valek and Janco. It is action packed, full of twists and intrigue, and is just as brilliant as the previous 3 study books.

Yelena has grown up since the previous books but it was nice to see her again and interesting to see how she coped with out her magic after realising how much she relied on it. I really liked that we got to know Valek more, especially about his past, but I did wish the flashbacks were not as often as it took the focus away from the current story. There are lots of well-known characters that are back including Janco, Ari and Leif but also lots of interesting new characters, especially Onora, a young female assassin.

While I saw the twist at the very end coming, I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Night Study. I would recommend Shadow Study to fans of Maria V Snyder’s other books, particularly the first 3 books in the Study series.